Game Thread: Reds at Phillies (2013.05.17)

The Reds have won 6 games in a row and I am convinced they will never lost again.

OK, that is highly unlikely but I wouldn’t mind seeing this winning streak continue on and last through this Phillies series. I am still a little bitter over some of those games back in 2010 and especially how the 2010 NLDS played out. Nothing would please me more than another sweep this week, the third consecutive by the Reds.

But first, Tony Cingrani must tame the Phillies lineup and the Reds must hit Cliff Lee in tonight’s game 1. Cheer on the Reds to Go here! Go Reds!

@renbutler: The Reds are facing a LHP. Fun facts aside, I guess we have to settle for baby steps from Dusty. Cozart is still in the #2 hole (UGH!), but at least Robinson is starting in LF against the LHP and is also hitting in the #8 hole rather than the catcher. Maybe Dusty is moving toward a strict platoon in LF and maximizing the player’s abilities while we wait for Ludwick’s return.

Now, if we can get that LF platoon hitting in the #2 hole with Cozart moved to the #8 hole…but baby steps.

In a season with poor usage of the catchers….does it really make sense that our rookie pitcher will have had three of them? And if Mes was going to catch him again, why was Corky getting 40% of the starts? Ugh!

@Hank Aarons Teammate: He should go back down. But I’d like to win the games while he’s up here, and 3 different catchers in three starts, and a heavy dose of Corky’s bat may not be the best way to accomplish that goal.

It just boggles my mind why Dusty continues to bat Cozart 2nd in the order. Any player is better than Cozart in that spot. Put Frazier to give him more fastballs in front of Votto, or use Paul or Mesoraco. Cozart has a 0.236 OBP between two guys with an OBP of 0.450. Only two players in MLB have a lower OBP than Cozart, and they are batting 7th or 8th.

@RedForever: I doubt it. I would not be in favor of that given the way that Baker uses the long man (in combination with the fact that their rotation is good enough that it’s not common to need the long man). And I’d be very upset if they made him a short reliever.

it is my understanding if a pitcher goes to his mouth with his hand he must wipe his hand off before going to the ball, yes??
if so, is it legal for Cingrani to wipe his brow and apply the sweat to the ball? I notice he does that quite often.
Sorry if this seems like a stupid question..

I honestly want to give Dusty the benefit of the doubt because clearly he knows more about baseball than I do, but PLEASE tell me what characteristics of a #2 hitter does Zack Cozart display besides playing shortstop?

See…this is when it hurts having Cozart in the #2 spot, just left the bases loaded. Especially against good teams and in the playoffs, this will come back to haunt the Reds. The Cardinals have Beltran & Holiday that deliver in the clutch and the other hitters help out as well. I think if the Reds want to make a run and get in the playoffs, they can do so with the same lineup as now. But, if they want to win in the playoffs and compete, they need to make a trade and get a “proven” bat, even when Ludwick comes back. Choo & Phillips are going to be pitched around, until Cozart or whoever is in the #2 spot is a hitting threat, and Bruce can deliver clutch RBI’s in a consistent manner.

@JEFFMO: I agree that hitting your worst hitter the second most times doesn’t make sense. But all this stuff about how great these other teams offenses are, how mahy runs have they scored?

The Cardinals are winning because their starters have a combined ERA just over 2. You cannot say that the Reds need another impact bat to win when they’re scoring runs like they are. It just doesn’t make sense.

It would be great to have great hitters up and down the lineup, but show me one single team that has that.

@RedForever: Terrible? Hardly. It only seems terrible because the Reds are loosing. A better CF catches that ball. A bettter manager walks young to get to Howard. 3 runs in 5 innings isn’t good, but it’s hardly a disaster.

@Hank Aarons Teammate: I’m generally with you, but my question is, do they calibrate the machines for each player’s height and stance? When they show the strike zone graphic it always looks the same.

Unless they started embeding player’s uniforms with censors at the back of the knees and the numbers, it seems pretty tricky to have the machines call balls and strikes live, with an ever-changing strike zone.

@Hank Aarons Teammate: I like the variances in umpire strike zones — as long as they are reasonably close to rule book and consistent for both teams. I like pitchers and batters having to adjust to slight differences.